Opposing Forces Two Point O
by Mntngrl94
Summary: Zuko and Iroh meet Avaa by pure chance but now their destinies are intertwined, or have they always been this way? Slightly different verison of Opposing Forces. Rated for mentions of sexuality and violence.
1. The Music Box and the Journal I

**Umm...hehe I guys. Yeah I'm really sorry for not posting in over a year, but honestly I didn't like the story anymore. The way I modeled Avaa and Hotaru's relationship wasn't working out. So I decided to anbandon it. But I did try and rethink the story to make it work. I went through 2 different backstorys for Avaa one involving her being raised in an orphanage I that I thought would work. And another that didn't take off very well that she was a bounty hunter. **

**But I did eventually get a good story going, and then I wrote it. I considered not uploading this story because of all the pressure to write chapters. . but in the end I gave in. **

**So I hope you like the new story, I think it's much better and makes more sense. So yeah, enjoy the first chapter of Opposing Forces 2.0.**

**(Oh, yeah I don't own Avatar. But you guys already knew that ^-^.)**

* * *

I. The Music Box and the Journal

It wasn't the first day of spring by the calendar. By the calendar it had been spring for a month. But it was just now that the Earth agreed with it. The days were noticeably longer, and it was much warmer. If you looked through the branches of any given tree, you could see little eggs cradled in a cozy nest of twigs. The beginnings of flowers just began to start to poke their leaves and buds out of the ground. Life was being reborn everywhere, and Tianjin was no exception.

Tianjin was located on the ocean side of a coastal mountain range at the southern end of the Earth Kingdom. It was a small peaceful town, which was rather surprising, considering their neighboring village. About a two days journey away from Tianjin was the Fire Nation colony of Xinjing. The colony was small and consisted mostly of merchants and farmers, so there weren't many warriors. As long as they stayed their separate ways they could live in peace.

And today Tianjin was especially peaceful. Adults worked, children played, it was like every other day, but something about spring brightened everyone's mood. Everyone, that is, but one person.

In a nice little house, identical to all the others on the street sat on old man at a honey-colored wooden desk. His dark brown hair was streaked with gray and his light ivory skin was only slightly wrinkled. His lightly aged hand filled a blank journal with stark black characters. He paused looked out the window. He looked at a bird perched in a cherry tree and sighed.

This time of year was supposed to be a time of happiness and rebirth, but Hansuke would always remember it as the anniversary of the worst mistake of his life. Hansuke laid his head in his hands. How could he have been so cruel? How could he have turned into such monster?

But before he could sink further into his despair, there was a knock at his door.

"Come in," he said, looking towards it. He watched his daughter enter the room with a pot of tea in her hands. When she reached the desk she knelt beside it and placed the pot on it, along with a tea cup.

"Good morning Dad," she said with an unsure smile on her face. In return he gave her a genuine smile.

"Good morning," he answered. The girl poured some steaming tea into the cup. The smell of jasmine tea floated upwards, riding on the curls of steam. She set the pot back on the table and looked out the window.

Hansuke was not just putting up a front to not worry his daughter; she really did cheer him up a little. Out of that terrible ordeal of hurting people and losing everything, something good came out of it. His daughter was his pride and joy.

"It's a beautiful day isn't it?" she said. Hansuke's smile fell as he turned his eyes back to the sight of the Earth, now young and lovely again.

"It is," he said, turning his eyes downward to the tea cup. He picked it up and took a sip. His daughter's gaze turned toward him.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Hansuke nodded and said,

"Yes, it's just my allergies; they start up around this time of year."

"Do you need anything for them?" she asked. Hansuke, again, smiled. He put a hand on her shoulder and patted it.

"No thank you. I'll be fine," He took another sip of jasmine tea. He smirked when he lowered the cup again, "Besides, don't you have training today?"

"Oh!" the girl exclaimed, standing up, "Mom's gonna kill me." As soon as she stood they both heard Hsiu Mei's strong voice echo throughout the house.

"Avaa!" Avaa winced, then shouted back in a much softer voice, like her father's.

"Coming!" She dashed out the room with one last call to her father, "See you later!" Hansuke chuckled as he watched down the hallway. Then he turned back to his desk picked his brush resumed writing.

* ~ * ~ *

Avaa ran down the hallway so fast she almost ran into the door leading into the garden. She skidded to a stop only a few inches in front of it, opened it and ran outside. She skipped slowing down and ran right off the edge of the platform, stopping right in front of her mother.

Avaa was a clone of her mother, Hsiu Mei, except for two major differences. Hsiu Mei had a smooth olive toned complexion, where Avaa had her father's ivory skin. And Avaa had straight black hair, where Hsiu Mei had curly brunette. Everything else was nearly identical including their short stature and lovely gray-blue eyes.

Hsiu Mei looked at her daughter sternly with her arms crossed.

"You're late." she said. Avaa sighed and hung her head slightly.

"I know," she replied, "and I'm really sorry. I've...had a lot on my mind this morning."The two of them began walking out the front gate, toward their training grounds. They walked through the main street to their open meadow outside the village.

"Like what?" Hsiu Mei asked. Avaa didn't answer. She just watched her neighbors go about their day. She saw her grandmother talking with two other older women, and her friends sitting under a blooming cherry tree.

"Hi, Avaa!" Lira called.

"Good morning Hsiu Mei-san!" Avaa and her mother waved back. When they had passed them, Hsiu Mei turned back to Avaa.

"So what's been on your mind?" Avaa lowered her head and her stomach churned at the memory.

"I saw Tsubame-obaa-san last night," she answered. She didn't have to look at her mother to know that she looked terrified.

"What did she show you?" Hsiu Mei, her voice wavering in fear. Avaa paused again. She replayed her vision exactly as she looked for the right words to describe it.

_Avaa looked around her in a slight state of panic. There was nothing around her but mist and cloudy ankle-deep water. It was deadly quiet, and there was no sign of life; nothing but pearly gray mist. Her stomach twisted into a painful knot as she realized where she was. _

_Oh, Great Spirits please no.__ she thought. As soon as she recognized her surroundings a figure appeared a few feet from her. Its appearance confirmed her fears. At first it was just a dark figure, but as Avaa ventured closer she could pick out familiar features._

_The figure transformed from a dark shape into an old woman in an ash-grey cloak. She had a tarnished bronze bowl in her lap. The bowl was held in place by two grotesquely aged and sallow hands. Avaa trembled in front of the woman. The familiarity of the sight did not comfort her in any way._

_Avaa stilled her tremors long enough to bow deeply to the old woman._

_"You summoned me, Tsubame-samma?" she said in a voice, calmer than the rest of her. Avaa looked up to see one of Tsubame's hand curled in a beckoning gesture. Reluctantly, Avaa stepped forward and kneeled. Tsubame tipped the bowl so Avaa could see the crystal clear water inside it. She only saw the tarnished bottom for a minute before it was replaced with a picture of the garden behind her house._

_The sky was dark midnight blue, so it was obviously night. But everything else in the scene was lit by bright orange light. The light radiated from the surrounding plants engulfed in flames. Avaa already didn't like the scene, but it got worse when she took note of the people in it. About eight or nine men circled around four others who restrained a ragged-looking couple. Avaa felt sick to her stomach when she recognized them as her parents. _

_There was no sound to the vision, there never was, so she didn't hear the sound that made her parents look up. A man walked into view in front of her parents. He had dark raven black hair and was quite tall. He turned to Hsiu Mei spoke with her for a minute. The conversation ended with Hsiu Mei lowering her head and the man throwing flames from his fist at her. Avaa resumed trembling as she watched her mother fall to the ground. Had she not been in the Spirit World, tears would have been running down her cheeks. Then, the man turned to her father. He spoke to him much longer, although from what she could see it was more yelling than speaking. The exchange ended in the exact same way the last one did._

_Then, the image faded into another one. It was day this time, and instead of her village, it was a vast stretch of rocky desert. The view of the vision followed a young man on an ostrich horse. Both the boy and the ostrich-horse looked exhausted. As Avaa watched she got a better view of the boy's face. He had a very serious expression and looked painfully gaunt. But what caught Avaa's attention was the large red scar covering his left eye. The vision lingered for another minute before fading away._

Avaa looked at her feet as she walked with her mother. She had visions of her parents dying before, but every vision frightened her beyond belief. This one was no different. She looked at her mother. Hsiu Mei was aged, but she was still beautiful and strong. Looking at her at that moment, Avaa couldn't imagine her dead. She took a calming breath and said,

"I saw you and Dad being killed. You were murdered by a fire bender." Hsiu Mei gave Avaa a comforting look and put a hand on her cheek. Suddenly, she was a child again and she hugged her mother tightly. Her warmth and scent comforted her.

"Don't you worry about anything, sweetheart," Hsiu Mei said gently, "Your dad and I aren't going anywhere." Avaa nodded. Hsiu Mei broke away and smiled at Avaa. Avaa smiled back.

"Now let's get to training," Hsiu Mei said. Avaa nodded and said,

"Okay." She pulled out her sword and removed it from its sheath. Hsiu Mei tossed her shield to her. Avaa caught it and put it on. Hsiu Mei stepped back a few feet and took her stance.

"Ready?" she asked. Avaa assumed her stance as well.

"Ready." Without another word Hsiu Mei earth bended a chuck of rock about the size of her head into the air. It hovered for a moment before flying toward Avaa. Avaa ducked and let it fly over her. In the same fluid motion she ran toward her mother, her sword aimed at the torso. But before she could give the blow Hsiu Mei raised a rock from her left and sent it flying into Avaa's side. Avaa was knocked a few feet away. She landed with a small cry. She grimaced at the pain on her left side and hesitated before shaking it off and getting back up again.

Avaa, again, ran toward Hsiu Mei aiming for a strike. Hsiu Mei stepped away from her blade, grabbed her arm, and swung her away. Avaa stumbled for a moment, but she used the circle motion to turn around and swing at Hsiu Mei's neck. Just as the blade got close, Avaa stopped it. Hsiu Mei blinked nervously at the sharp silver-colored sword just two inches from her neck. After a moment she closed her eyes and chuckled. At this Avaa lowered her sword.

"Well done," she said, "You've won round one."

* ~ * ~ *

The two women stood in front of each other, both breathing heavily. Avaa's throat was painfully dry and she felt a little dizzy from fatigue. Despite that she still held her sword in her hand, ready for another attack, but Hsiu Mei smiled at her and straightened.

"Great work, Avaa," she said, wiping her forehead, "You've just about mastered fighting an earth bender." Avaa gave her a tired smile and also straightened up to her proper height. Hsiu Mei picked up a water skin, took a drink, and then tossed it to Avaa. She removed the seal and took a long drink of the water. It wasn't particularly cold, but it felt wonderful to her parched throat.

When Avaa had finished she and Hsiu Mei began walking back to the village.

"Now all we have to do is brush up on your skills against a fire bender," Hsiu Mei said. Avaa snorted.

"Yeah, good luck talking Dad into training." she said smiling. Hsiu Mei chuckled a bit.

"Yes, your father is quite uptight about that isn't he?"

"Very. I can't believe we've trained as much as we have over the years." Avaa said. Hsiu Mei looked ahead rather thoughtfully.

"It's unfortunate really, he's an excellent warrior." Avaa turned to her mother and smirked.

"Is that why you married him?" she asked playfully. Hsiu Mei gave Avaa a mock sneer before erupting into laughs. Hsiu Mei opened her mouth to add a comment but was interrupted by another voice.

"Avaa-chan!" a familiar bubbly voice called. Both Avaa and Hsiu Mei turned around to a tall thin girl with long brown hair and glittering emerald eyes. She didn't look like she belonged there in a small merchant village. She had all of the beauty and grace of an Earth Kingdom noblewoman. She smiled at the two women in front of her and waved.

Avaa smiled back at her best friend. Natsu ran up to her side with her characteristic dazzling smile. _It's no wonder all of the boys love her._ Avaa thought as she spotted a few staring at Natsu as they walked by.

"Just get done with training hmm?" Natsu asked. Avaa chuckled.

"Yup." Avaa replied. Hsiu Mei smiled at the two girls.

"I'll see you two later ok?"

"Alright."

"See you later, Hsiu Mei-san." Once Hsiu Mei had left Natsu turned to Avaa and said, "Let's go to the bath house. I'm sure you need one." She said the last part with a chuckle. Avaa smirked.

"I thought you wouldn't mind, seeing as you have no more reputation because of me."

"Of course not," she replied, "I'm trying to bring it back by at least not having a _smelly_ warrior for a friend." Avaa chuckled.

It didn't take but another moment until they were at the entrance of their destination. The bathhouse was a rather small building made of dark wood positioned by a creek. The entrance formed a small courtyard which was filled with a variety of flowers and trees. The whole area was very peaceful, quite appropriate for taking a bath.

The two girls entered and Avaa smiled when they were greeted by the moist warmth of the baths. They removed their shoes at the doorway and turned into the women's bath. Avaa blushed as she remembered the time she had accidently walked into the men's bath. She had only been about nine years old but it was still the most embarrassing thing she'd ever done. Natsu still liked to tell the story to anyone who would listen.

The two teenage girls were the only ones in the bathhouse so they could undress in peace. As they did Natsu said,

"You know your mom works you way too hard." Avaa paused as she loosened her chest bindings and raised an eyebrow.

"Does she?" she asked innocently. Natsu scoffed as she sat at a washing station.

"Come on, training every other day? Don't you find it tiring?" Natsu squeezed water from a small cloth onto her body. Avaa finished undressing and sat at an adjoining washing station.

"Not really. I mean I've been doing it forever, so I guess I've just gotten used to it," she said. Natsu shrugged, taking it as an adequate response.

"But it really cuts into your social time," Natsu started, but Avaa interrupted by giving a small laugh.

"And your training doesn't?" she said, "Miss-_geisha_."

"I'm not really a geisha," Natsu corrected, "My mom is just teaching me some of the stuff." Avaa shook her head and poured water on it.

"Whatever." she said. She smiled at its warmth. Beside her, Natsu did the same, and she lowered her bucket with a thoughtful look.

"You know, it would be pretty cool to be a geisha though. Going to parties, wearing expensive dresses," she paused and gave a cat-like grin, "and of course getting attention from all those men." Avaa smiled.

"Yeah." Avaa imagined herself with smooth white face, and wearing an elaborate kimono dancing in front of a small crowd of men. They all had their eyes on her, looking completely entranced. Avaa sighed as she returned to reality.

She would love to be the center of attention. It didn't have to be a crowd of men, she would be happy to have one man to give her all his attention. But so far, she hadn't found that man. _Oh, well, _she thought, _I'll find him someday._

When the two girls finished washing themselves off, they both got in the deep pool of wonderfully warm water. Avaa gazed at the light from the window dancing on the water. She stretched out her hand dreamily and dipped it in the reflection. She cupped her hand and lifted it out of the water, trying to catch the sparkling iridescence.

Looking down into the pool reminded her of her vision the night before. She hated going into the Spirit World. It was so unnatural and frightening; she wondered why she, of all people, was a seer. Why did Tsubame show her what she did? The visions she saw were possible outcomes of the future, why did she need to know them. Why only certain things? She had been asking herself and her parents these questions for as long as she had the ability to do so.

Natsu must have noticed Avaa's expression change because she asked,

"Are you ok?" Avaa nodded, snapping out of her trance. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I just," she paused, "you know visited the Spirit World again." Natsu looked worried but she gave a small laugh and asked,

"So what disaster is gonna happen this time? Another flood, or will the Fire Nation finally attack us?"

"My parents were killed by a fire bender," Avaa said without smiling. Natsu stopped smiling and tried to give Avaa a comforting look.

"Hey," don't worry," she said, "That old hag has shown you your parents dying tons of times, and it hasn't happened yet."

"Yeah," Avaa said, "But you know what was weird about this last vision?"

"What?" Natsu asked.

"She didn't just show me my parents dying. She also showed me this boy about our age. He was just riding through the desert, and the only thing special about him was that he had a scar." Natsu's brow furrowed in confusion.

"That is strange," she murmured to herself, "Maybe you'll meet this boy someday." Avaa shrugged.

"Maybe."

* ~ * ~ *

Avaa sighed as she entered her room. She leaned against the wall sleepily with her hands over her eyes. No matter how used she got to training every other day she was still exhausted by the end of the day. She pushed off the wall and untied her hair, letting it fall over her shoulders.

Avaa undressed, put on her nightgown, and sat at her small table. As she ran a comb through her hair she thought again of the boy of her vision. She couldn't fathom why she had seen him, but she couldn't stop wondering. That in of itself was puzzling because normally when someone has a conundrum such as this, they eventually stop thinking about it. Avaa hadn't been able to think of anything else since she brought it up in the bathhouse, which was hours ago.

Again, she remembered his face. She had always been able to remember her visions with extreme clarity, so it was easy for her to draw him with a piece of charcoal. When she was finished she gazed at the picture pensively.

Who on earth was he anyway? Why did Tsubame show him to her? Why? No matter how many times she asked herself these questions, she could still receive no answers. Avaa sighed, giving up and opened a small rosewood box. When the hinge reached a certain point a beautiful but melancholy tune started playing. She picked up her drawing and set it inside the box, alongside a few keepsakes of hers.

Avaa almost closed the box once the paper was safely inside, but the melody made her stop. This was her mother's music box. She had given it to Avaa when she had turned thirteen, and she had loved it ever since. She loved the beautiful smooth lacquer of the rosewood, the lily carved on the front, and most of all the song it played. When she was younger, Hsiu Mei had hummed this melody in her ear as she fell asleep.

When the song finished, Avaa closed the lid and lay on her futon. She remained awake only long enough to yawn, and pull the blankets around her. After that, she fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

* ~ * ~ *

While the warmth of spring ruled the daylight hours, winter still chilled the countryside at night. And at this time of night it was especially cold. All of the daytime creatures will holed up in their warm holes asleep. The only beings out at this time and temperature were the strongest and most dangerous night creatures. This, of course, did not include people, which is why some people would be confused to see one on top a hill.

The figure was unrecognizable in the shadows of night. He was almost motionless, just looking at the town below him. He would have continued to gaze steadily into the valley, but another figure approached him from behind.

"Sir?" The second figure asked tentatively. The first figure turned around.

"Yes?" he asked. He had a low husky voice. The second figure straightened a little and said,

"We're ready to move out, sir." The first figure smiled slightly.

"Excellent, please proceed to do so."

"Yes sir," the second figure said. Before turning back around he hesitated. "Um, sir if you don't mind my asking…why exactly are we doing this?" He waited for his superior to snap at him, but he never did. The first shadowy figure just smiled.

"Of course I don't mind," He turned back to the valley, "It's simple really. Revenge."

* ~ * ~ *

Avaa awoke to a loud crash. She could feel the impact of whatever it was shake the floor. _What the-?_ She thought as she sprung to her feet. As soon as she feet touched the floor, her door slammed open. In the doorway stood a short but burly man in armor.

Avaa dived for her sword just as the man charged into the room. Flames erupted from his fist, and Avaa had to dodge them. In the process, she missed her sword. She looked up and saw the man blocking it from her.

She swore vividly in her head and swung her legs at the man's ankles. When they made contact the man toppled over, hitting his head hard on the wall before lying on the floor unconscious. Avaa wasted no time in dashing out into the hallway.

_What's going on? Why are there fire benders in the house?_ She wondered. Avaa stopped when she saw the mess the corridor was now in. The wall scroll of a cherry tree in bloom was now on the floor in a crumpled heap, and she could see pieces of the front door and the one to her parents' bedroom scattered all around. What was happening?! Avaa's heart sped up even more as fear and panic set in.

Without thinking she dashed for the garden door. It was already open and she could see bright orange flames beyond the threshold. She stopped a few feet from the door.

_Oh Great Spirits no! NO! _

Avaa forced her breathing to remain steady against the panic rising in her. Taking deep breathes, she creped along the wall to the doorway. When she was right beside the frame she poked her head around the corner and into the garden. The sight almost sent her into a panic again.

The bushes in the garden were engulfed in flames. Their once bright blossoms now charred black. In front of the burning plants was a small group of men, all in Fire Nation armor. Eight or nine men surrounded four others who were restraining a couple, dressed in their night robes. Hansuke and Hsiu Mei stopped struggling to raise their heads as another figure strode into view. A tall figure with raven black hair.

"No!" Avaa whispered. No! This couldn't be happening! Tsubame's visions never come true! Never! She almost dashed out into the garden when she felt a sharp tug on her arm. Avaa was prepared to attack her captor when she realized it was her grandmother.

"Grandma Let go! I've got to-" Avaa started.

"No! there's nothing you can do!" Isano snapped. She dragged her into her room where the fire bender still lay in a heap. Isano threw Avaa into the room and shut the door behind them. Avaa watched in a slight daze as her grandmother shoved clothes and other necessities into a bag. Isano tossed her a drawstring pouch and said,

"Here" Avaa didn't need to open it to know that it was filled with money.

"What's going on, Grandma?" she asked Isano. She didn't answer. Avaa bolted for the door and ran back into the hallway. She reached the back door again and saw her mother conversing with the tall stranger. Her eyes widened. She couldn't even make out what was being said, but she knew what would happen next.

"MO-" Avaa felt a hand being clamped over her mouth. She briefly struggled against Isano, with tears running down her cheeks. But Isano was surprisingly strong for her age and tried to lead Avaa out the front door.

Before they went through the threshold Avaa ran back inside and into her room. She grabbed her music box quickly and left. Then she ran into her parents' room. She had planned to run quickly in and out here as well but she stopped when she saw the state of the room. There were burn marks all over the walls and a few holes in the floor. Avaa blocked her mental reenactment of the battle. She glanced at her father's desk and snatched the small red book on it.

When she reemerged from her parents' room Isano grabbed her arm and pulled her out the front door. The two ran through the streets of Tianjin, toward Isano's house. When they arrived Isano lead Avaa into the stables right beside her house. Once inside she let go of her granddaughter's arm.

"Grandma-" Avaa started. But Isano didn't listen. She quickly bridled an ostrich-horse and lead it out of its stall. Once it was out she also threw a saddle on it.

Avaa had no idea why any of this was happening. She was scared honestly. She needed some sort of comfort. But she also realized she needed to get far from here.

"There's no time to waste," Isano said,"Get on quickly! Leave town and head north." Avaa did as she was told and mounted the ostrich-horse. She turned to Isano and tried to ask her something, but Isano interrupted her. "Go! Hurry!" Avaa turned away and spurred the ostrich-horse into a full run.

As she flew through the streets Avaa went into a dream-like state. She watched houses fly by in a blur with the same thought repeating in her head.

_Your parents are dead. Your parents are dead. You'll never see them or this place again…_

Avaa held back her sobs but not her tears as she exited the gate and Tianjin shrank in the distance. It wasn't until the village was completely hidden by the horizon that Avaa stopped. She dismounted the ostrich-horse in the forest away from the path. She flung herself against a tree trunk and let everything loose. She screamed sobs into her knees, letting the hot tears flow down her cheeks. She had just lost her parents, her friends, her home all in the same moment. She had no idea where to go, or what to do. She felt terribly lost and hopeless.

"**MOM! DAD!**" Avaa cried. More sobs racked her slim body, "Please, please don't leave me!" She saw her faces in her mind's eye. Her father, handsome and tall but also gentle. Her mother, beautiful and outgoing. Both of them were gone forever. As she saw their smiling faces she let out another cry of anguish, knowing that she would never see those smiles again.

* ~ * ~ *

Haruto stood in the burning garden scowling at the couple in front of him. Why? Why couldn't he do it? After all they done to him and after they hurt him so much why couldn't he just kill them?! His scowl deepened and he again tried to release the deadly flames. But again he stopped himself. He just couldn't do it. This was different than killing on the battle field. He couldn't murder in cold blood like this.

He growled and turned away abruptly.

"Restrain them."

"We are sir."

"WITH ROPE OR SOMETHING YOU IDIOT!" Haruto roared. As his men scrambled for rope or something Haruto stormed into the house. He stopped in the front room of the house. There was a stove and wood pile in the far right corner and a table that used to be in the center of the room. Prior to his entrance he was sure it was a nice cozy kitchen.

"How sweet." He said to himself. He was about to turn around to explore more of the house when something caught his attention.

Haruto crossed the room and looked at a scroll mounted on the wall. It was a family portrait, and rather recent as the Hansuke and his wife in the portrait resembled the ones in the garden hopefully being properly restrained. But there was something Haruto didn't expect to see in that portrait. A teenage girl that kneeled beside Hansuke. There wasn't a lot of resemblance between the two, but there was enough.

Haruto turned away from the portrait and walked back to the hallway leading outside. This time he noticed a door to his right that he had missed earlier. He entered the room and saw Hao slowly rising to his feet. He was holding his head and groaning.

"What happened in here, Hao?" Haruto asked.

"Um, well there was a girl in here sir," Hao replied, rather embarrassed. Haruto raised his eyebrows slightly at this, "I tried to capture her, but she-" Hao's words were lost as he mumbled the rest of his sentence. But Haruto didn't care; he turned and went back into the garden.

_So he had a daughter with her hmm? _Haruto thought to himself.

"Sir!" Quon said. Haruto looked up at his men and saw them gathered around the now rope bound couple, "The prisoners are restrained, sir." Haruto smirked.

"Very good. Take them back to Xinjing and put them on the next ship to the Fire Nation," he said.

"What are you gonna do to us there, Haruto?" Hansuke asked as he was pulled to his feet.

"I'm sending you to Shi Tung prison." Haruto replied. Hansuke lowered his head and sighed. Beside him, his wife just looked at the ground stony-faced.

"I know it probably won't help much, but I'm sorry Haruto," Hansuke said as he and his wife were being lead away, "I'm sorry for everything." Haruto scowled at him and said nothing. He watched the couple being put on a kimono rhino and his men get on theirs.

"Aren't you coming sir?" Quon asked. Haruto looked at Hansuke and gave him a poisonous smile.

"No, Quon. I still have unfinished business here." Haruto addressed Quon but didn't take his eyes off Hansuke. It only took a moment and Haruto knew that Hansuke understood what he was talking about. He watched in amusement as Hansuke's terrified face shrank into the distance.

* * *

**And there you have it! ^-^ Again I apologize for ending the first one but this one will be better I swear. Review please.**


	2. The Prince of the Fire Nation II

**I don't have much to say this time, 'cause its late and I just finished this chapter. I'm sorry it took so long, but I have gotten new motivation and inspiration to write since summer has started so we'll see what happens. **

**I hope to post links to pictures of characters and what they wear soon, so keep an eye out for that. **

**So until the next update...enjoy!**

The Prince of the Fire Nation

Avaa lead her ostrich horse across the rocky desert. She looked up at the sky, toward the sun and squinted angrily. Because she had been raised in the extreme south of the Earth Kingdom she was used to cooler weather. Now that she had gone further north and closer to the center it had gotten a lot warmer which was something she wasn't used to. While scowling at it, she realized that it was starting to sink in the sky.

"I guess it's about that time to settle down." She sighed, lowering her gaze and blinking stars from her eyes. She could've kept riding if she wanted to but she was hot and tired. The heat not only annoyed her but it slowed her down considerably. A few days ago she decided that she was going to Ba Sing Se but with the progress she was making she'd never get there.

Avaa let out a breath and began leading the ostrich horse to a patch of sparse trees.

_Oh well, I'll get there eventually._ She told herself. There was no sense getting all frustrated. She had plenty of time.

She dismounted under the speckled shade of the trees and removed her pack from the ostrich horse. The ostrich horse shook out her feathers and gave a grateful squawk. Avaa smiled and pet the animal's neck.

"Good girl," she said. She was about to turn around and begin setting up camp when she saw movement in the corner of her eye. Avaa turned toward it and ducked behind a bush. When she peeked through the slim branches and leaves she saw something that made her face lose its color. Well, someone would be more accurate. She saw a boy walking around an abandoned house, picking up sticks. A boy with a scar on the left side of his face.

_Prince Zuko?_ Avaa thought. _What's he doing here?_

_The sun beat down on Avaa relentlessly, making her mood even worse than it already was. All around her pig animals oinked, squawked, or whatever it was they did at her. She glared at them, but they continued to assault her with noise. _

_She had been traveling for two days straight without any food and hardly any sleep. She was about to pass out on her ostrich horse, but so far no one was willing to let her stay at least one night. She had no idea what she'd do if she was refused here too._

_Avaa looked up and saw a woman standing up the path, a farm house behind her. She dismounted and walked toward the woman. She was pretty, but painfully thin. Despite that she smiled warmly at Avaa. Avaa bowed and said,_

"_I'm sorry to bother you, but could I please stay here at least for one night? I'll even earn my keep." She knew she sounded desperate, but in all honesty she was. The woman must have noticed because she said in a gentle voice,_

"_Of course you can. You can help me around the house, but I'm afraid you'll only be able for tonight." Avaa brightened and smiled._

"_Thank you." The woman smiled back kindly._

"_Come on, we need to start dinner before my husband's done working." Avaa nodded and followed the woman into the house._

_Avaa had just taken the pot of tea from the fire when she heard the front door open. The woman, Sela, greeted the people walking in. _

"_Did you finish working on the barn?" she heard Sela ask._

"_Yup that roof is sealed tighter than a drum. It shouldn't leak anymore." A man replied, "Oh! Who is this?" Avaa turned around and bowed to the man standing with his arm around Sela._

"_I'm Avaa, thank you for letting me stay in your home." The man smiled._

"_You're quite welcome." He turned around when the front door opened again, and stepped back so a small scrawny boy could enter. He had big, bright green eyes and scruffy brown hair. He was absolutely adorable, and had obviously recently lost a tooth._

"_Oh!" the boy said, "We have another guest?"_

"_Yes," Sela answered," Speaking of guests, where is our first one?" _

"_Right here," the boy answered, stepping aside. A tall teenage boy stepped into Avaa's sight. He had very dark, almost black hair, sharp golden eyes, and a large, painful looking scar over the left side of his face. Avaa almost gasped to see him. She could hardly believe what her eyes were telling her. _

_It's him! It's the scarred boy from my vision!_

Avaa was frozen behind the bush, partly from fear and partly from shock. She wanted to turn around, get on her ostrich horse, and run like the wind, but something stopped her. Instead of fleeing, she continued to kneel behind the bush, carefully watching the prince of the Fire Nation gather twigs. For some reason or another, Prince Zuko was able to hypnotize her into just observing his movements. She noticed things on him that she wouldn't on other people.

Like the fact he had a worried expression on his face, which rather puzzled Avaa. She couldn't think of any reason why he would be worried. She waited until he went back around the corner and into the house before slowly creeping out of the bush, careful not to make a lot of noise.

_Avaa quickly gathered her senses and calmly sat at the table with Sela, her family, and their other guest. Although she had stopped staring, her mind was still racing. No one seemed to notice though, and she and the guest were introduced._

"_I'm afraid there isn't enough room in the house for you two," Sela said, "But now that the barn's roof is fixed you can stay there." The mysterious scarred boy merely nodded, but Avaa bowed deeply and said,_

"_Thank you again for letting me stay."_

"_It's no trouble," Gansu assured her, "We're happy to help when we can." Avaa smiled at him, and turned her gaze back to the scarred boy._

_He said nothing, but was quietly eating rice from his bowl. He looked tired, and not just from working on a barn either. From the dirt caked on his clothes and his gaunt look she could tell he had been traveling for some time. It surprised her that she noticed these things. She also had the suspicion that he wasn't just traveling. It seemed like he would look over his shoulder every once in a awhile, to see if he was being followed. She wondered what he was running from._

"_Here you are." Gansu said, after opening the barn doors. It was a rectangular building with rather high ceiling. Like any other barn it had stalls on both sides. In the stalls slept the pig animals Avaa had met earlier. Now that the sun had gone down and she had been fed, the creatures were much less annoying. _

_They're actually kinda cute._ _She thought when she noticed a few sleeping cow-piglets._

"_There's a loft up there, if anyone wants to sleep there." Avaa and the scarred boy both turned to Gansu and bowed._

"_Thank you again," the scarred boy said, finally speaking. Avaa liked his voice immediately. Gansu smiled, bowed back, and shut the barn door, leaving the two strangers alone together._

"_Do you mind if I sleep in the loft?" Avaa asked the scarred boy._

"_Go ahead," he said, making his way toward a large pile of hay. Avaa hesitated climbing the ladder into the loft above her. This was probably the only time she'd ever see this boy, and there was obviously something special about him. Otherwise, Tsubame wouldn't have shown him to her. She had to know who he was._

_Avaa turned around and approached him as he made a bed out of the hay. He looked up at her and asked,_

"_What?" Avaa hesitated. The scarred boy frowned at her, obviously getting impatient._

"_What do you want?"_

"_I never caught your name earlier," she said, "I was just wondering who you were." The scarred boy turned his gaze away from Avaa and back to the hay pile beside him._

"_I could ask you the same question." He replied. _

"_Didn't you hear earlier? My name's Avaa." She told him. She lowered her gaze, "As for who I am, I'm someone without a place to go…or anyone to turn to."_

_The scarred boy was silent for a moment before simply saying, _

"_Then that makes two of us."_

Avaa kept low to the ground as she tip-toed her way across the open space between her grove and the house. She watched carefully for twigs and pebbles that could give away her position. Her eyes constantly swept the area in front of her, looking for the return of the prince. But he never came back out.

Avaa made it undetected to the abandoned house. The walls were still mostly intact, save for a few large holes. She scooted as close to the one on the back wall as she dared and barely looked through it. When she looked through the hole she saw something that took her completely off guard.

Prince Zuko knelt beside an unconscious older man, dressing a wound on his chest. What was really surprising to her was that he hadn't noticed her yet. He must have been so worried about this man, he couldn't think about anything else. Avaa had no idea what to make of it. She was so puzzled all she could do was watch as Prince Zuko continued to care for the old man's wounds.

But he must have sensed that someone was watching him, because he glanced at the back wall. Avaa ducked down quickly and wasted no time in scurrying back to her campsite. From behind the bushes, she watched the prince run back around the corner of the house and look for the interloper.

Prince Zuko only searched the area for a minute or two, before going back into the house. With a sigh of relief, Avaa pulled herself out of the bushes. He may have been out of sight, but he defiantly wasn't out of mind. Who was that man? How did he get hurt? And why was Zuko caring for him?

_Even though Avaa had stayed her one night already, she planned staying for at least half the day helping Sela to repay her. The scarred boy, however, did not. He was packing his bags as Avaa followed Sela to the barn to milk the pig-cows. Lee and Gansu were standing with him, ready to say their farewells._

"_You're leaving already?" Avaa asked._

"_I have to be moving on." He replied as he mounted his ostrich-horse._

"_Here, this ought to get you through a few meals," Sela said, holding out a package of food. He reached down to take it, but was stopped by the sudden burst of noise from the pig-animals. Everyone turned toward the road, where a dust cloud was quickly approaching them. Inside it, Avaa could see a handful of brutish Earth Kingdom soldiers._

"_What do you think they want?" Gansu asked._

"_Trouble," the scarred boy said grimly._

_When the soldiers stopped in front of them Avaa noticed the hateful looks that Sela, Gansu, Lee, and the scarred boy were giving them. All of the soldiers were smiling smugly._

"_What do you want Gow?" Gansu asked the man in front sharply. He chuckled to himself before saying,_

"_Just thought someone ought to tell you, your son's battalion got captured. You boys hear what the Fire Nation did to their last group of Earth Kingdom prisoners?" He turned to the other men behind him. The palest one, with a scraggly beard answered._

"_Dressed them up in Fire Nation uniforms and put them on the frontline, unarmed," the man paused to spit on the ground, "Then they just watched." _

_Avaa's eyes widened at the terrible thought. She had no idea that Sela and Gansu had an older son in the war. And he had gotten captured._

"_You watch your mouth!" Gansu snapped. Gow scowled and tried to move towards Gansu, but the scarred boy rode his ostrich horse in front of him. The two men stared at each other for a moment before Gow turned away. _

"_Why bother rooting around in the mud with these pigs?" he asked his men before riding off in another dust cloud. Sela looked like she was near tears. Gansu noticed this and quickly brought her into his arms._

"_What's gonna happen to my brother?" Lee asked his parents._

"_I'm going to the front," Gansu told Sela, as he let go of their embrace, "I'm going to find Sen Su and bring him back." Sela just nodded, unable to hold back tears any longer. Gansu put an arm around her and led her back to the house._

_Lee ran up to the scarred boy, looked up at him and asked,_

"_When my dad goes…will you stay?" _

"_No," the scarred boy said simply, "I need to move on." He reached into his bag behind him and pulled out a slender wooden case. It was made of beautiful lacquered wood, and he held it out to Lee._

"_Here. I want you to have this. Read the inscription." Lee took the case and pulled out a pearly bladed knife. He squinted as he read the characters etched into the blade._

"_Made in Earth Kingdom." He recited. The scarred boy looked away, almost like he was embarrassed._

"_The other one."_

"_Never give up without a fight." Lee looked back up at the scarred boy who nodded. He then turned his eyes on Avaa. He gave her a different look than he had the previous day. He looked just as curious about her as she was about him. Abruptly, he turned and rode off without another word._

_After Avaa had repaid Sela and her family she rode back into town to buy food. Sela had tried to give Avaa food for a few days as well, but she refused it. They had done enough for her as it was. Now she stood in front of one of the few merchants in the town. The sun was setting and she was anxious to get moving on as well. She put a few coins on the stand._

"_How much will this get me?" she asked. The man quickly calculated and determined,_

"_Only about a day's worth of food." Avaa sighed. _

"_I'll take it." The man nodded and turned around to gather up the food she paid for. Of course, something was bothering her again. She felt certain that not only was there more to the scarred boy than she knew, but she felt that she and the boy weren't finished seeing each other. _

_Avaa waited patiently until she heard the sound of an ostrich horse galloping. She turned around and got her eyes full of dust, but she also saw the scarred boy riding as fast as he could. _

"_He's back." Avaa said to herself. She wasted no time and leaped back onto her ostrich horse._

"_Wait! What about your food?" the merchant said. _

"_Keep it. The money too." She called back as she rode after the scarred boy._

_She almost missed him. He had slowed his ostrich horse and dismounted in front of the Earth Kingdom thugs. They were in the middle of a street with a wooden watch tower at the end. Tied to the watch tower, was Lee. Avaa dismounted her ostrich horse and joined the crowd that had gathered in the allies leading to the main street._

"_Hey, there he is! I told you he'd come!" Lee cried out happily. _

_He's come to rescue Lee.__ Avaa realized. _

_The scarred boy gave the men a venomous glare and said._

"_Let the kid go." The thugs just laughed at him. Gow stepped forward with a devilish grin on his face. _

"_Who do you think you are? Telling us what to do." He asked in an equally threatening tone._

"_It doesn't matter who I am, but I know who you are. You're not soldiers, you're bullies. Freeloaders, abusing your power mostly over women and kids," the scarred boy said,"You don't want Lee in your army. You're sick cowards messing with a family who's already lost one son to the war."_

_The soldiers were silent for a small moment. Clearly, they had never been shot down like this before and they didn't know what to think. Unfortunately, they snapped out of it quickly._

"_Are you gonna let this stranger stand there and insult you like this?" Gow asked his men. Avaa's jaw dropped in shock._

_Really? You're gonna prove that boy right by sending your men to attack instead of going after him yourself? Really?_

"_Damn coward," Avaa muttered as one of Gow's men walked towards the scarred boy with a spear in hand. As the soldier lunged forward to stab him, the scarred boy drew his swords, jamming the hilt in the soldier's stomach. The soldier let out a grunt of pain and fell to the ground._

_Like the coward he was, he immediately fled after getting back to his feet. Another solider growled and charged at the boy, meaning to impale him. But the scarred boy knocked the spear away and brought the man down with a palm to his head._

_When the last soldier charged, the scarred boy broke the spear cleanly in half with a kick. As the frightened man ran away Avaa could hear Lee laugh in delight. She found herself smiling as well. The scarred boy was a more impressive fighter than she had expected._

_Avaa glanced back at Gow. He was a short but muscular and very sturdy looking man. There was no doubt in her mind that he was an earthbender She knew from her fighting experience that he wouldn't be as easy to dispatch as the others. Especially since the boy was only armed with duel swords. But Avaa had faith in her newfound hero. _

_Gow drew two hammers from his belt and took on a stance Avaa was very familiar with. Further down the street, the new hero assumed his own stance. Gow raised a rather large rock from the ground with a mighty slam with one hammer, and sent it to the boy with the other._

_Avaa grimaced as the rock flew toward Hero's face, but before it made impact, he shattered it with his blades. She gasped at his feat, and then again as two more rocks sailed towards Hero in rapid succession. He was able to deflect one, but was hit solidly in the gut with the other. He stumbled backward, but quickly recovered and charged towards Gow._

"_Give him a left!" an old man beside Avaa yelled," A left!" The old woman beside him, who Avaa assumed was his wife, gave him a funny look and said,_

"_It's not a fist fight."_

"_He's got a left sword don't he?" the man said, continuing to cheer Hero on as he deflected rock after rock. He shattered most of the rocks, but one got through and hit him in the same spot the pervious rock did._

"_Look out!" the old man cried out. _

"_Behind you!" said Lee._

_Hero was steadily being driven backward by Gow. He smashed the ground with alternating hammers, each time, sending a rock Hero's way. Suddenly, Gow hit the earth much harder than he had been previously. Avaa could feel the shock wave through her feet, and gasped at the ripple of rock coming right towards Hero. The rock hit him squarely in the chest, and he fell to the ground with an expression of pain. The crowd collectively gasped._

_For a long time, no one moved. Everyone was waiting for Hero to get back up and defeat the earthbending bully, but he didn't move. Avaa could just barely see his chest moving up and down, so he was still alive._

"_No," Avaa whispered," Come on Hero, get up." _

_Gow began walking slowly towards Hero's fallen form but before he could get far, there was a scream of fury and a sudden blast of fire. Avaa shielded her face from the heat. When she turned back she saw Hero standing in the middle of the flames, and Gow picking himself up off the ground. _

_It can't be…__ Avaa thought._

_Hero charged at Gow, sending arcs of flames at him as he did. One of them met its target and sent Gow flying into the building behind him. Part of the building collapsed on him, burying him to his head in rubble. Hero walked towards him calmly, swords steaming._

"_Who…who are you?" Gow asked weakly._

"_My name is Zuko. Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne," Hero said strongly. The crowd began to murmur among themselves. Avaa just stared at her Hero in disbelief._

"_Liar!" the old man cried," I heard of you! You're not a prince, you're an outcast! His own father burned and disowned him!" _

_Avaa didn't know what to think. On one hand, this boy had helped rid this town of thugs and rescued a boy in the process. But on the other hand, this was the son of Fire Lord Ozai. From the time they were able to understand speech Earth Kingdom children feared and hated the Fire Nation and its ruler. With that came a hatred of his family as well. The Prince was supposed to be evil and ruthless, but…_

_Prince Zuko approached Gow, who cowered at the sight of him. Prince Zuko reached down and took the knife he gave to Lee earlier that day from him. He then walked to Lee and Sela. Once Sela freed Lee she stepped in front of him, protectively. The face that had given him a kind smile earlier that day, now gave him a look of hate._

"_Not a step closer," Sela told him. Prince Zuko heeded this and kneeled where he stood. He offered the knife to Lee, who still stood behind his mother._

"_It's yours, you should have it," he said. Lee scowled at the prince._

"_No, I hate you!" he spat as his mother lead him away from Prince Zuko. He got back on his feet and looked towards Avaa, who still stood in the crowd. She felt strangely betrayed, her hero turned out to be her enemy. The prince of the Fire Nation. She felt hurt and mislead._

_What do you think of me now?__ He seemed to be asking. Avaa shook her head and turned her eyes away from him._

_You mislead us. I hate you.__ She replied. _

_Prince Zuko showed no emotion to this response, but calmly looked at her for a moment. Then he walked to his ostrich horse. The villagers watched him as he donned his hat, mounted his ostrich horse, and rode away into the bloody orange sunset._

Avaa sat back against a tree, looking up at the sky and thinking very hard. So the son of practically the world's enemy had a soft spot for saving people. No big deal, nothing earth shattering. Avaa groaned in frustration.

"Argh! It doesn't make any sense!" Of course, Prince Zuko didn't seem every nice when you first saw him. He looked cold, distant, and mean; no one would expect him to save a boy or an old man. So why did he do it?

She thought about this for quite a while until she saw another movement coming from the derelict house. When she turned towards it, not only did she see Prince Zuko, but the old man. They were speaking to each other and walking further out the mesa. Avaa wondered why the man was behaving so calmly in the presence of his enemy.

_Of course he doesn't recognize Prince Zuko. I have to warn him somehow._

Luckily for her, the sprinkling of trees stretched to a reasonable distance behind the two men. Avaa began carefully slinking through them, getting closer and closer to the prince and the unknowing old man. They were facing away from her, and they were talking so they hopefully wouldn't notice her presence. Or at least Prince Zuko. She intended on warning the old man somehow.

As she got closer, she started to hear their conversation. The old man was actually doing most of the talking.

"…can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance and in a moment the positive and negative energies come crashing together. You provide release and guidance, creating lightning."

_Lightning?_ Avaa wondered. _What on earth is he talking about? __**Why is everything so crazy now?**_

Avaa narrowed her eyes, and furrowed her brow in confusion as she watched the old man tell Prince Zuko to step back. She carefully followed the fluid, circle movements of his arms. She barely noticed the small arcs of electricity around his fingers. And she didn't realize what was happening until a huge bolt of lightning erupted from the old man.

It only lasted for a second, but the intense light, sound, and electrical charge all frightened Avaa beyond belief. She desperately tried to blink stars from her eyes, and tried not to cry out as static electricity shocked her with her every motion. Her ears rang from the deafening boom. She had never been so startled or helpless as she did at that moment. She sat behind the shrubbery, shaking violently, but at the same time frozen with fear.

_**WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE SPIRITS HAS THE WORLD COME TO?**_

**_*sings* Cliff-hanger, hanging from a cliff! And that's why he's called cliff hanger! _**

**_Muwahahaha! Don't worry the next chapter will be out before you guys know it. Until then review please! :)_**


	3. The Interloper III

**Haha! Another chapter! I'm quite proud of how this is going and the new storylines in my head. ^-^ I'm going on vacation the day after tomorrow and I was determined to update before I left, and I succeeded!**

**I can't promise any updates as soon as I get back, but I plan to at least have a start on the mext chapter. (Which I'm very excited to write.)**

**This is going to seem a little deja vu-ish despite my best efforts to make it different from the last one. Just hang in there it'll get more interesting soon.**

**And with that, Enjoy!**

* * *

The Interloper

Avaa's heart continued to pound away at the inside of her chest as the air calmed from the lightning bolt. Her hair settled back down on her head, and the stars faded from her eyes. She let out a long, but quiet breath. The static was slowly disappearing and she could see and hear clearly again. Eventually, her heart began to slow as well. Her body and her environment had calmed down, but Avaa's mind was still a little startled.

Avaa continued to watch the two men only a few feet away from her. It seemed that they had needed a moment to recover as well. Or maybe it just seemed longer to Avaa.

Prince Zuko turned to the old man and said,

"I'm ready to try it!" Avaa was again, confused. It seemed the world decided to stop making sense and obeying the laws of reality Avaa had learned.

The old man rubbed his bandaged shoulder and rotated it a little.

"Remember," he said, "once you separate the energy you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide. Breathe first." With that, the old man backed away a few steps.

Prince Zuko turned to the edge of the mesa and took a deep breath. He mimicked the motions that the old man had made just a few moments before. Avaa was still incredibly confused, but she prepared herself for another bolt of lightning. She held her breath as Prince Zuko completed the final motion, ready for the explosion. There was an explosion, but not the one that the old man had made.

The fiery explosion threw the prince backward, and dangerously close to Avaa's hiding spot. She dared not move, as Prince Zuko picked himself off the ground. She briefly saw his determined expression as he walked forward and tried again, with the same results.

_Okay. Let's think through this straight and logically. Thinking in circles won't do you any good. _Avaa mentally said as she observed Prince Zuko.

_That old man over there can create lightning, and he's trying to teach Prince Zuko how to do it. But he's not succeeding, and from the look that the old man has, he should be. _This thought was punctuated by another explosion and a growl of anger.

_Does this have something to do with bending? Can fire benders make lightning?_

Prince Zuko stood back up with his fists clenched in anger and frustration.

"Why can't I do it? Instead of lightning, it keeps exploding in my face! Like everything always does!"

Avaa was slightly confused by this statement, and his behavior. She had never seen him act like this before.

The old man walked back over to Prince Zuko.

"I was afraid this might happen. You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you." He said calmly.

"What turmoil?" Prince Zuko snapped.

"Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away," the old man told him.

"But I don't feel any shame at all!" Prince Zuko said, "I'm as proud as ever!"

"Prince Zuko, pride is not the object of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame."

"Well…my life has been nothing but humbling lately." He said rather sadly. The old man seemed to think for a moment before turning back to Zuko with a smile on his face.

"I have another idea," he said, "I will teach you a firebending move that even Azula doesn't know, because I made it up myself!"

_I guess I was right. Firebenders can create lightning. So that old man is a firebender, and also a fugitive by the looks of it. _Avaa thought. Now what was puzzling is the familiarity the two firebenders shared. She shifted her weight slightly and grimaced at the stiffness. She didn't know why she continued to kneel here behind bushes, spying on firebenders. Probably because she was too curious for her own good.

After carefully shifting positions, she watched as the old man motioned for Zuko to sit. He obeyed and the old man drew on the ground in front of him. Avaa couldn't see what he was drawing, but from what he said, she could make guesses.

"Fire is the element of power," he explained first, "The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want. Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring. Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had good senses of humor!" At this the old man grinned. Zuko's expression didn't change, and he continued to look up at the older man. Seeing that his joke failed, he continued the lesson.

"Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything."

Prince Zuko looked at the drawings in the dirt for a moment before asking,

"Why are you telling me these things?"

"It is important to draw wisdom from many places. If we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding the other elements, the other nations will help you become whole. "

"All this element talk is sounding like Avatar stuff," Zuko pointed out. Avaa gave a small start at this. Her grandmother told her stories about past Avatars, and how the current one disappeared. But she also remembered the day the village found out that he had returned. Everyone had danced for days.

"It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But it can make you more powerful too," the old man said, poking Zuko in the chest with his stick, "You see, the technique I'm about to teach you is one I learned by studying the waterbenders."

At this, Zuko looked just as intrigued as Avaa was. Avaa laid her head down on the ground for a moment to let everything sink in. Honestly, this was a lot to take in, in one day.

She didn't mind that the reddish dirt was sticking to her forehead, she was filthy anyway. Avaa determined that the two men knew each other well, which explained why she saw Zuko tending to the old man's wounds. Also, Zuko was trying to learn how to create lightning, or at least become stronger. Why? Avaa thought she remembered a name being mentioned earlier.

_Azula. _She concluded, _Zuko must be trying to be better than this Azula girl. And this new technique that was derived from waterbenders will help Zuko be better than Azula. Makes sense to me._

It all finally made sense, but it didn't change the fact this was a lot of information to process. And the fact that she had been laying under bushes for the entire day wasn't helping the fact that she was tired. She could crawl back to camp, but she wasn't finished watching.

_Just a little longer, _she thought.

Avaa raised her head to find Zuko and the old man practicing fluid motions that could only be waterbending.

"Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy," the old man explained," A waterbender lets their defense become their offense, turning their enemy's energy against them. I learned a way to do this with lightning."

Zuko stopped in mid-move.

"You can teach me to redirect lightning?" he asked excitedly. The old man nodded.

"If you let the energy in your body flow, the lightning will follow it." He raised his right arm into the air and pointed with the opposite.

"You must create a pathway from your fingertips up your arm to your shoulder, and down to your stomach. The stomach is the source of energy in your body. It is called the Sea of Chi. Only in my case it is more like a vast ocean." The old man laughed at this and Avaa, who had begun dozing off, also giggled quietly.

"You direct it up again, and out the other arm. The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart, or the damage could be deadly. You may wish to try a physical motion to get a feel for the pathway's flow."

Avaa looked up, sleepily to watch. The old man pointed to the left with both arms, took his right arm down his body, then up to the other side. Zuko also did these motions.

"Now are you focusing your energy? Can you feel your own chi flowing in, down, up and out?" the old man asked, again repeating the motion.

"I think so." Zuko replied. He continued to mimic the old man's motion, but rather stiffly.

"Come on, you've got to feel the flow," the man said making wave motions with his arms. Avaa smiled and giggled again.

The motions were repeated until Zuko could make them as fluidly as the old man. Once he achieved this, the old man stopped and smiled at Zuko.

"Excellent! You've got it!" he said happily. Zuko also stopped and bowed to the old man.

"Great! I'm ready to try it with real lightning!" Zuko said, smiling. The old man, furrowed his brow at this and gave the prince a questioning look.

"What? Are you crazy? Lightning is very dangerous!" Zuko also frowned and looked very annoyed.

"I thought that was the point. You teaching me how to protect myself from it." He countered.

"Yeah, but I'm not going to shoot lightning at you!" the old man said as he waved his arms defensively, "If you're lucky you will never have to use this technique at all." He turned away from Zuko.

Zuko scowled and turned his gaze to the dark clouds on the horizon. Avaa could see the white-blue flashes the lightning created.

"Well, if you won't help me I'll find my own lightning." He said. The old man trembled a little as he heard Zuko ride away towards the storm.

* * *

The next morning the sky was steel gray where it wasn't covered by even darker clouds. It would have been possible to sleep through the whole day if the rain and thunder didn't make their presence known. The rain pelted the ground mercilessly, and thunder made the ground shake.

Avaa woke up to a heavy beating rain on her back. She groaned quietly and sat up. She had gone back to her camp and to bed after Zuko went after the storm. Apparently it had followed him back home.

She pushed her soaking black hair away from her face, and realized something. She looked to the tree where her ostrich horse should've been tied up. The branches were absent of any rope or ostrich horse for that matter.

Avaa cursed as she quickly stood up. How would she be able to get around now?

_I'll never get anywhere on foot!_ She looked all around her in a frenzy for the missing animal. She was in such a panic that she almost missed it.

When Avaa turned back toward the abandoned house she saw her ostrich horse happily nudging a second one, both under the overhang of the house. Avaa sighed in relief and was about to walk over there to fetch her, but she noticed that the ostrich horses weren't the only ones over there.

Zuko and the old man stood beside her ostrich horse and eyed it suspiciously. The old man started scanning the groves of trees with narrowed eyes, and said something to Zuko. Avaa's eyes widened in fear and she quickly lay back on the ground, hoping that she wouldn't be found.

Avaa cursed continuously in her head as she hid. She had no way of knowing if they were coming this way or not because of the rain drowning out every other possible sound. But she still listened and watched for movement in the bushes around her.

Everything was making her jump. From the raindrops hitting the bushes, to the thunder and lightning that seemed to threaten to break the sky. Avaa forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down. If she kept this up she would be seen in no time. If she hadn't been already.

For a while everything seemed calm. The rain pattered on the ground with only a few rumbles of thunder accompanying it. Avaa didn't see or hear anything suspicious, and she almost believed they had stopped looking for her. But at the same time, she could feel the tension of waiting in the air felt by both parties. The waiting to be discovered or the waiting to discover made her heart race in her chest. Everything seemed like it was just waiting.

Until Avaa heard a distinct rustle come from the bushes beside her. She quickly turned to it, but didn't see anything. An animal maybe? Avaa doubted it. They had almost found her, she knew it. It was just a matter of time before they sprung on her.

Suddenly, Avaa saw flames come from the bush beside her. Without thinking she gasped and sat up to get away from the fire. Before she realized they were gone, she felt a hand grab her wrist. Avaa quickly turned to her captor, who had previously been scowling. Now, Zuko furrowed his brow in confusion and looked at Avaa incredulously.

Avaa wasted no time and quickly threw Zuko on the ground by pressing on his wrist. She heard him cry out as she ran as fast as she could. When she looked behind her to see if she was being followed, she was stopped by a rather large stomach. The owner seemed prepared for this, and made her bounce backward and onto the ground.

Before she could jump back up and start running again, Avaa was again captured in Zuko's grip. She desperately tried to shake him off, but to no avail.

"Why did you follow me? " Zuko asked her. Avaa stopped struggling and looked at the prince from over her shoulder, with a glare.

"I didn't," she spat.

"Then what are you doing here?"

"You two know each other?" Avaa heard the old man ask. She looked up at him and saw him with a puzzled expression on his face.

"We've met," Zuko mumbled.

"And you lied to me!" Avaa snapped.

"I never said anything that wasn't true!" Zuko shouted back.

"You still deceived us!"

Before Zuko could shout anything back, the old man interrupted.

"Fighting like this will get us nowhere," he said, "Let's all sit down and have some tea."

Avaa scowled and again tried to jerk her arm away from Zuko. She winced at the pressure he now put on it.

"I don't need the company of firebenders!" Avaa said harshly, "Especially not their Prince!"

She cried out when she was suddenly thrown to the ground. She hit the packed but wet red earth with a painful thump. When she looked back to Zuko he was standing over her, scowling. His golden eyes bright despite the day's darkness.

"Who says we want Earth Kingdom peasants around?" Zuko spat back at her as she picked herself up out of the mud.

"How dare you? I-"Avaa started as she approached Zuko, but the old man gently but firmly grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him.

"That's enough! Both of you!" he snapped," Now we are all going to go into the house, have some tea, and act peaceably."

Zuko continued to frown as the man spoke. When he was done he looked at Avaa, who was shielded by him. Avaa frowned back at him.

Honestly, Avaa wasn't that hostile towards Zuko at all. This was defense, pure and simple. She was very prepared to fight her way out of the situation, and she was still mistrusting of Zuko as well. She wouldn't fall for any tricks again.

Finally, Zuko looked away and began walking back to the house. Avaa also turned and began walking to the shelter. The old man followed closely behind, probably to keep any more fights from breaking out.

Soon enough they were all seated around a small fire in the abandoned house. The old man sat between Zuko and Avaa, and poured cups of tea for all of them. Avaa picked hers up carefully and took a small sip. She was surprised it tasted so good.

"Now," the old man said calmly," Let's introduce ourselves like civilized people." He turned to Avaa and bowed unusually deeply for someone of his age, addressing someone of Avaa's age.

"I am Iroh, formerly known as the Dragon of the West and Fire Lord Ozai's brother," he said.

Avaa set down her cup and bowed so that her nose grazed the old floorboards.

"I'm Avaa," she replied," I'm not really anyone special."

"And it would seem you already know my nephew, Prince Zuko." Avaa's face hardened a little as she sat back up.

"We stayed with the same family for a night," she said. She turned away," And he fooled us into thinking we could trust him."

"Well, despite our Nation's actions over the last hundred years, I can assure that both Prince Zuko and I can be trusted." Iroh said gently before Zuko could say anything.

Avaa turned back to him with a question on her face. One that she had been wondering about for quite some time.

"Speaking of the Fire Nation," she said," Why aren't you guys there? I mean you are part of the royal family."  
At her question, Iroh's face fell from a kind smile to a troubled frown. Beside him, Zuko scowled and walked away from them. He stopped at the door and gazed outside at the rain. Both of them were silent for a very long time. Avaa looked between the two, afraid she had said something wrong.

"We both have made choices that the people of the Fire Nation wouldn't approve of. Especially our relatives," Iroh said simply.

Avaa raised an eyebrow and looked between the two firebenders. What kind of choices? What could be so horrible that the Fire Lord would exile you from the Fire Nation?

_They're traitors._ Avaa realized with a jolt. _Both of them._

She looked at Zuko who was still standing motionless at the doorway. The only movement he made was to clench his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. Other than that he didn't seem to acknowledge the fact his uncle had spoken.

"So what would make a young woman like yourself travel on her own?" Iroh asked kindly, and once again smiling.

Avaa's eyes fell to her lap as she felt her heart drop into her stomach.

"My family was attacked by firebenders," she said, "My grandmother was able to smuggle me out of the village before I could get hurt."

Iroh's expression fell a second time.

"Your mistrust of us is understandable," he said sadly. Avaa smiled bitterly, thinking of her father.

"Somewhat," she murmured.

"So what now?" Zuko asked, turning back around," I mean we found you. And you already know who we are. So now what?" He addressed this question to both Avaa and Iroh.

Avaa didn't want to think about what they had previously planned to do with her, but she was grateful they weren't planning it anymore. Although she couldn't help feeling like Zuko was addressing her as a stray animal.

She looked at Iroh with a questioning expression. He looked at her, and then at Zuko, who was giving him a similar look.

"Why don't we travel together?" he said finally. Both teenagers reeled back at this response.

"Huh?" Avaa questioned.

"What?" Zuko asked a little more harshly. Iroh held up his hands defensively against Zuko.

"There's no reason not to," he said," and it's dangerous for a young woman to be traveling alone."

Avaa's expression was caught between surprise and disgust and Zuko seemed to be in a similar state.

After quite a few minutes of arguing between Avaa and Zuko it was decided that Avaa would in fact be traveling with the firebenders. Much to the dislike of Zuko and Avaa who now refused to speak to each other.

Now that it had stopped raining, they planned on moving on immediately despite Iroh's injuries. Avaa repacked her bags on her ostrich-horse and noticed him rubbing his shoulder. She frowned at this .

"Are you sure you'll be okay to go?" she asked. Iroh smiled and waved it off.

"Yes, yes, I'll be fine. I've had quite a while to rest anyway. But thank you for your concern." He said. Before Avaa could insist they stay longer, Zuko walked his ostrich-horse to them.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yes." Iroh said, mounting the animal as well. Avaa sighed and followed suit.

* * *

They began riding down the mesa on a gently sloping trail covered with trees. With the clouds still hanging in the sky, it was quite dark under the canopy of leaves. Water still dripped from the plants, occasionally hitting a passerby on the head.

Avaa jumped slightly as a particularly large drop fell on her. She attempted to brush it off and sighed. She wasn't having much fun. Iroh was a nice enough man, but he and Zuko were much too quiet for Avaa's liking. At least when she was alone the silence wasn't awkward.

"So…" she said, "Where are we going?"

"We are not sure," Iroh answered.

"We can't stay in one place too long or Azula will find us," Zuko said.

"Who's Azula?" Avaa asked.

"My sister," Zuko answered grimly.

"If she finds us we'll be sent to the Fire Nation to be imprisoned, " Iroh added, "Or worse."

_Worse?_ Avaa thought. She imagined Zuko and Iroh being lead to the executioner's block and shivered. She hated the thought of anyone dying that kind of death.

Before her thoughts could turn anymore gruesome, Avaa noticed Zuko and Iroh had stopped. She also stopped her ostrich-horse and regarded the figure in standing in their path.

Avaa couldn't see much of the figure, but she could distinguish a few features. He held his huge ostrich-horse in one hand as if he was getting ready to mount it. He was quite tall and had very shaggy and long raven black hair to his shoulders. He had a mildly surprised expression on his face. As if he hadn't expected to run into anyone else on this path.

Avaa noticed Zuko and Iroh tense up. Of course, they had just been talking about how they were Fire Nation. But this man didn't seem to have heard. In fact, he smiled.

He stepped more into Avaa's vision and almost made her gasp. Across the man's neck was a very, very painful looking scar. The burn spread onto his jaw line, but seemed to be most concentrated on his shoulder, considering it was mostly on his right side.

"Well hello there!" he said in a low, husky voice.

Avaa felt her heart jump when he spoke. She knew that voice she was certain of it. But she couldn't remember where she had heard it from.

* * *

**And the new plot-bunnies swarm with a vengence! It's probably not very hard to guess who this mystery man is, but I'll let you guys do it anyway.**

**Review and post your guesses!**


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